Implementing sensitivity labels and sensitivity label policies

Sensitivity labels, like retention labels, are metadata that helps users and the M365 platform classify content. While retention labels are used to protect and manage the content’s data lifecycle (and consequently, its overall existence in the M365 ecosystem), sensitivity labels are used to classify, protect, and manage data from a risk or value perspective.

Sensitivity labels have evolved since their first introduction as part of Azure Information Protection in 2018 as a cloud-based successor to Active Directory Rights Management Services (originally introduced as part of Windows Server 2003) and Azure AD Rights Management Services (originally introduced in 2013).

Modern sensitivity labels have the following protection features and capabilities:

• Content marking (such as markings in headers, footers, or body watermarks)
• Content encryption, allowing it to only be opened by specified recipients
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